Our overheating solution

[sven]

Like other people, we noticed overheating issues as soon as summer kicked off. It was basically unusable in our office, which only gets to 76F or so.
We’re in an old building without AC, and I suspect a lot of sheds and garages have the same issue.

So, this is a $300 solution, but it’s bulletproof (and also cools down our office a bit).

We bought a $280 portable AC from Home Depot along with two cheap ($20) wire rack shelves. The AC fits perfectly underneath and between the two shelves, and we cut vent holes in a piece of plexiglass for the two vents.

[sven]

I used this vent “draft blocker” to attach the Glowforge exhaust tube to the plexiglass (with screws).

And I used this Toshiba Portable AC.

Here are the PDF files for the cutouts, if they’re useful. 4 inch circle with screw holes.pdf (737.7 KB)
ac vent cutout.pdf (746.4 KB)

[sven]

Oh, and the shelves are 30" shelves. The wire rack ones work great for ventilation.

[bkressley]

I went a similar solution also a LG portable AC, but my Forge is on a 46" Husky 9 drawer workbench. Still sorting out the best place/way to direct airflow under it so it’s still hit or miss sometimes (our low right now is 78 and high 88.)

[sven]

Yeah, we had ours on a bench previously along with lots of fans blowing at it, we even put it up on some 6" pedestals with massive fans blowing on it, but without lowering the ambient room temperature, we were having issues even at around 72F in the room (because I’m sure the inside of the box is 10 degrees hotter). I was even blowing cold compressed air from cans at it to keep it from overheating.
I wasn’t crazy about spending another $350 to make this thing work, but we have a number of projects waiting, and this completely solved the issue after trying a number of other hacks.

[bkressley]

I wasn’t crazy about spending another $350 to make this thing work,

Me either, but I cancelled the filter so saved some money to be able to do the A/C

[Dia]

Are you running both at the same time? Wouldn’t you get the exhaust fumes back in from the AC?

[bkressley]

Both are exhaust vents, one for smoke, one for hot air from AC. I separated mine because I could put the Forge vent in the wall.

[rpegg]

Gonna guess that GF 2.0 will have as an option an external company approved chiller. They were probably optimistic on the operating temps during peliminary design.

During the crowdfunding it was apparent that cooling limits were TBD and a potential issue. I upgraded to the Pro because of that. Didn’t care about the extra power or pass thru.

[sven]

We have the Pro too. It starts acting up at closer to 75F ambient temp.

[rpegg]

Mine has a much higher limit. But I have seen the under lid temps 10F degrees higher than room ambient. Without the exhaust running the inside will heat up. I leave the lid open if the room is warmer than 75F. And I have a flap on the exhaust so warm air won’t come in from outside.

[brokendrum]

And on the plus side, the room gets a chill also.
Win Win

I like that his works without having to build a storage box around the forge.

Have to ask, what happened to the front door?
Certainly not helping the exhaust with that MIA.

[cynd11]

Great solution, thanks for sharing it! I wonder if it would also help folks that are doing outdoor booths at Makerfaires in the summer, as long as they have access to electricity.

[sven]

Yeah, the link to the vent “draft blocker” I posted above keeps air from coming in from outside. I think another improvement I might add is wrapping the exhaust tubes in something insulating.

[sven]

On the door: I override the magnetic sensors on the door so I can fit larger items in. We got the Pro model so we could do this, but unfortunately the pass-through slot is only 1/4" high, and we’re printing on some “shot paddles” (I have a tequila company) that are 1/2" thick, so I need to hang part of it outside. I just use some vinyl to block the laser. I’ll probably make that look nicer and use some velcro so I can quickly put on the magnets and safety cover on and off quickly.

[alan_ferrell]

Did somebody say Tequila?! What is your brand sir? If it can be obtained in Virginia, I shall procure a bottle to show support to my fellow Glowforger! My love of tequila might have a little to do with it too…

[n_dawson]

Oh man! That just gave me the solution to something I figured I’d have to take to the local makerspace to use their big Universal! Thank you!

I may have to give up my Pro soon (return it to the dayjob), and when that happens, I’ll be ordering a basic. The heating issue really makes me nervous, as I haven’t had a problem, YET (because Pro). This is a great solution. Even at $300+, it is still much cheaper than an additional $3Gs for the Pro! THANK YOU!

[sven]

Brand is Sparkle Donkey (not available in Virginia, but I think you can do mail order)
sparkledonkey.com

Side note: Our brand pokes fun at the “heritage marketing” that every other tequila does (even brand new tequilas try to imply that they have generations of heritage), so we have a “faux heritage” and produce all kinds of vintage signs/posters. So what’s fun is that I can find old things in thrift shops and “brand” them with the Glowforge. It’s as if they were original bar signage from the 1940-1960’s.

Example:

[quote=“sven, post:18, topic:26003, full:true”]
Brand is Sparkle Donkey (not available in Virginia, but I think you can do mail order)
sparkledonkey.com

Side note: Our brand pokes fun at the “heritage marketing” that every other tequila does (even brand new brands try to show that they have generations of heritage), so we have a “faux heritage” and produce all kinds of vintage signs/posters. So what’s fun is that I can find old things in thrift shops and “brand” them with the Glowforge. It’s as if they were original bar signage from the 1940-1960’s.

Example:

[/quote]